Many Ironman athletes, training plans, and coaches schedule the weekly long run on Sunday after a long bike on Saturday. The reason is often given as "you need to practice running on tired legs."

This is NOT a good idea and here's why:

A long run on tired legs is just another opportunity to practice running slowly on tired legs vs running more quickly on fresher legs. The best way to become a faster runner is to create opportunities in your training week for you to...run faster, not slog through a run on wooden legs!

The recovery cost of a long run done on Sunday, for example, after a long Saturday bike is much greater than that same run done mid-week. The net is that Monday, often Tuesday, and sometimes Wednesday's workouts begin to become compromised, especially as that weekend volume gets up to a 4-6hrs long bike on Saturday and 2.5-3hr long run.

Any long run in training will have at least an hour or more where your legs feel Ok. That is, they feel like you're starting a long run after a long bike the day before. Contrast this to Ironman race day, where you're coming right off a 112 mi bike after a 2.4mi swim. After you get your legs back a bit, by about mile 6 or 7, your legs will now feel like, at best, about mile 15 of your best long run...then it just gets harder. My point is that your tired legs on Sunday long run isn't even close to what it's going to feel like on race day...so why bother?

I made the switch with my athletes to a mid week (Thursday or Tuesday) long run in '02 or '03, I believe, and never looked back. By separating the long bike from the long run:

The long run can now accommodate some get-faster work.

We can separate the long run from the long bike with a no-legs day on Friday.

We weight the cycling to the weekend. A 3hr semi-long ride on Sunday has a MUCH lower recovery cost than a hard 2.5hr Sunday run = much lower chance that it, and it's combination with the Saturday ride, will affect your early week workouts the following week.

Finally, it may create a social opportunity for you on the bike on Sunday -- a Sunday ride with friends. Riding with other athletes, especially those stronger than you, is a very, very valuable opportunity that we encourage our athletes to seek out.

I've been fightin' this fight for years and, in my opinion, it's a clear line in the sand that separates Old from New Skool. It clearly identifies coaches and self-coached athletes who get it vs those who don't have enough experience, haven't done it themselves, and/or haven't stepped back to think things through more critically.

The Hiplok is the world's first bicycle lock developed specifically to be worn on the body. It’s a seriously strong piece of kit with a hardened steel chain at its core and a Sold Secure accreditation. All Hiploks are fully adjustable - one size fits all.

Not my bag baby!

As the Hiplok can be carried independently, there is no need to take a bag with you just to carry your lock. Also, by transferring the weight of the lock directly to your hips rather than it being on your back and shoulders, you are more stable as a rider and transmit less strain on your body.

You’re no Houdini....

If you’ve ever worn a chain lock or flexible lock on your body, you’ll know that you have to lock it in place in order for it to stay in position. This is not very safe if you, or somebody helping you, needs to take off the lock in an emergency situation. Due to it’s unique design, Hiplok is never locked into a loop while it is attached to your body, and it remains fully adjustable and quickly removable at all times when being worn.

Be seen, not hurt.

The bottom line is - the more visible you are to other road users, the safer you are. Thats why Hiplok is available with a large 3M reflective logo detail. The Hiplok is the only lock on the market to have reflective detailing to help make you more visible at dusk and at night - which is just another reason to wear it loud and proud.

Wear what you like when you ride.

A small lock in your back pocket is okay if you wear the right jeans everyday, and ride a certain type of bike. But what if you want to wear something else? Or want to ride another style of bike? Hiplok’s design gives you the freedom to wear any clothes and ride any type of bike in comfort. Oh, and did we mention the locking circumference? Your locking options are far greater with a chain compared to a D-lock.

Ride your bike with your style

With Hiplok there’s no need to attach or hang a lock to your bike while you’re riding, meaning you don’t spoil the clean lines of your machine, or scratch your frame. And should you need to carry your bike up a flight of stairs or bunny hop a high curb, the fact that you don’t have your lock on your bike makes it lighter and easier to maneuver also.

This is a great idea in so many ways, gets the commuter off gas, driving prices down, the average car turn over would go down, again driving car prices down, the cycle is never ending. Plus since most or 60% of americans are overweight or obese, monetarily this should do something to get them moving.

In UK it seem to work like this:

The scheme, which has seen more than 400,000 people purchase a bicycle tax-free through their employer, is under threat after Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs called for a review.

Friday, March 4, 2011

This is great, been stuck inside all winter on the trainer, need some way to prop up your iPad, well the iProp has the solution. the stand seems very sturdy and practicable.

Product FeaturesWe are excited to announce the release of the iProp™, our one of a kind accessory for the Apple iPad®. The iProp™ will allow you to further enjoy your tablet in ways you have only imagined, enabling you to experience reading, movies, videos, tweets and apps all hands-free in nearly every situation.

Features include:

This model compatible with original iPad® only (model for iPad® 2 coming soon)Full 360° rotation of iPad®Ball and socket connector allows tilt and swivel in all directionsHeavy duty, V-shaped baseEasy to insert and remove iPad® from ABS plastic holder

The inaugural Leadman Epic 250 event will entail a 5K swim, 223K bike and 22K run and will take place May 14, 2011, in Las Vegas, Nev.

Complementing this ultimate challenge, the Leadman EPIC 250 features a swim in the shadow of Dead Man’s Island, a bike through the Valley of Fire State Park and a picturesque trail run that overlooks Hoover Dam. The course also features more than 7,000 feet of climbing and a peak elevation of 2,600 feet in historic Boulder City.

Well done North Face. Style is not over the top, gear seems to be well thought out and with the years of your product being used for MTB and other sloppy stuff already, can't wait to see what a dedicated line of clothing will feel and do.